Rome derby: The much-awaited derby between Roma and Lazio has now been moved to Monday, the Lega Serie A announced yesterday. The match was originally scheduled for Sunday at 3pm but Lazio, who face Juventus in the Coppa Italia final tomorrow, asked to the Italian Football League to move the game by 24 hours to have an extra day to prepare for the match. Lazio’s request was approved and the match will now be played on Monday, with kick-off at 6pm.

Atkinson: England’s Martin Atkinson will referee the Europa League final, UEFA announced. Mike Mullarkey and Stephen Child will be 44-year-old Atkinson’s assistants for May 27’s clash between Sevilla and Dnipro in Warsaw, with Anthony Taylor and Andre Marriner as the additional goal-line officials.

Ban cut: An Israel FA appeals court yesterday halved a two-point punishment for misconduct against Beitar Jerusalem after their fans chanted racial abuse at a rival team’s Arab player. The court said it had deliberated long and hard before deciding to reduce the penalty and was giving the club one final chance to prove that their fans had learned their lesson following many previous punishments.

Novellino: Seasoned coach Walter Novellino is back at the helm of Modena, the struggling Serie B club that sacked him just three months ago. Following Saturday’s 2-1 defeat to Ternana at home, the third in succession, Modena decided to part ways with Mauro Melotti in a bid to revive their hopes of avoiding the relegation play-offs. Novellino was fired in February, but is still under contract until June 2017.

In court: England international Adam Johnson walked with his partner into court where he faced three offences of sexual activity with a girl under 16 and one of grooming, yesterday. The 27-year-old Sunderland star held hands with Stacey Flounders as they arrived at Peterlee Magistrates’ Court. The winger was arrested in March after he was accused of sexual activity with a 15-year-old girl. During the five-minute hearing, Johnson’s solicitor, Paul Morris, indicated he would plead not guilty.

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